Raised on the Isle
by Reincarnations
Summary: These are the events from the book 'Isle of the Lost' if Ben would have been raised on the Isle.
1. Prologue

*~PROLOGUE~*

Young five-year-old Ben, almost a six-year-old, didn't know better when he was playing by the loading barges in Auradon. The boats were used to send the Auradon trash to the Isle of the Lost. His father told him it was all the villains deserved, not that Ben fully believed him.

He went to the barge with his father and his mother, the King and Queen of Auradon. His parents had to talk with the guy in charge about something important. Ben didn't really know what the important thing was.

Ben absolutely loved his parents. His mother, the Queen of Auradon, was known throughout the kingdom for her beauty, with one villager commenting that it has no parallel, but although she knows it, she's not vain or concerned about her looks. She was greatly aware that her fellow citizens think of her as "odd" and "peculiar." His mother paid very little attention to her appearance, unlike the other queens in Auradon.

His mother has long brown hair, most often tied back in a low ponytail with a blue ribbon, and possessed captivating hazel eyes, full lips, rosy cheeks, a heart-shaped face, and a sculpted figure. One of her more distinct features were the strands of hair that were constantly slipping loose from her ponytail and falling in front of her face. He often seen her brushing them back into place when nervous or trying to be polite.

Although Ben remembered so much about his mother's appearance, he remembered so little of his father's. He knew he was a tall and slender man with bright blue eyes. Ben could never forget those blue eyes. He wished he had them, but he was stuck with a combination of his mother's and father's eye; an ugly green-blue color that he absolutely hated.

Ben didn't know how he managed to get in the boat. He had chased a creature around for a few minutes. A butterfly? A lizard? He couldn't remember. Ben just knew that he tripped and bumped his head, knocking him unconscious.

When he awoke, Ben felt the boat swaying back and forth. Although his vision was slightly distorted, he could tell that he was in the middle of an ocean. However, a faint stench of garbage reached his nose and he found it repulsive. Before he knew it, he was back unconscious.

* * *

Little young Mal was in one of the best moods ever! Although she was not invited to little Princess Evie's birthday party, her mother took care of it. The powerful fairy, Maleficent, banished the Evil Queen and her daughter to the far end of the Isle because of their crimes.

The look on the princess's face as she was carried away by her mother was horrifically wicked!

The only thing that could make Mal even more cheery is to dig through the barge to see what kind of treasures from Auradon she can take before anyone else.

The goblins got out of the young fairy's way in fear of her mother's wrath. In the back of her mind, it bothered Mal that she had to rely on her mother to scare everyone off. To be fair-she was only a six-year-old girl that can do no better.

As she got onto the enormous boat, Mal found a young boy passed out on the deck. He was about her age, maybe slightly younger. He had brown hair that covered most of his face now.

He was dressed in clothes that were too neat to be from the Isle. The typical citizen usually had something ripped or torn. The boy had a button up shirt and pants that didn't have anything on them, save for the dirt from the boat.

Being the curious child she was, Mal poked his chubby cheeks to see if he was alive. After a few good jabs, the boy's eyelids started fluttering and soon enough his eyes were open.

The boy had the most beautiful eyes Mal has ever seen in the six years she's been alive. They were a bright blue color that could be visible in the dark. Mal would have stared into his eyes forever if he hadn't blinked.

"Where am I?" The boy questioned as he rubbed his head that had a slight bump forming.

"You're on the Isle of the Lost," Mal informed before reciting, "a prison for the villains and their kids because we are not welcomed in Auradon." She waited for the boy to say something, but he seemed confused. "Are you from Auradon?"

"I don't know," he confessed as he looked around the slump he was at. "I don't know where I'm from."

"How about a name?" Mal suggested helpfully. "Do you at least know that?"

The boy thought about it real hard before he felt something in his pocket. In his pocket was a little note, a reminder, that said, 'I will always love you, Ben'.

"'Ben'?" He guessed as he shoved the note back in his pocket. "I think my name is 'Ben'."

"Nice name." Mal extended her hand for him to shake it. "I'm Mal, short for Maleficent, but Mother says I can't have my full name until I've proved that I deserve it. Do you know your parents?"

Ben thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"How about your age? Or birthday?"

Another pause before another shake of the head.

"Hmmm. . ." Mal examined Ben for a moment before determining, "Well, you look about my age, so we'll make today your birthday! That means you turn six years old today! Will that work for you?"

Ben shrugged his shoulders. "Sure. Not like I remember my real one."

"Great!" Mal exclaimed cheerfully, before grabbing hold of his hand. "Come on, let's go to my mother. She'll know what to do now."

* * *

Turns out her mother, Maleficent, wanted nothing to do with Ben. The thought that he might come from Auradon frightened the evil fairy. She might get blamed if he turned out to be someone important.

Mal and Ben went outside the former's house to escape Maleficent's wrath.

"So, what are you going to do?" Mal questioned.

Ben shrugged once again. "Don't know. I guess I'll just live here on the Isle."

"Are you sure?" She wondered curiously. "Don't you want to know if you come from Auradon?"

"Not really," he confessed. "If I do come from Auradon, I won't go unless you get to come with me."

He gave the young girl a kind smile. "I'll see you later!"

With those parting words, he traveled through the grungy island, leaving Mal with high hopes that she'll get out of the wretched prison.

Someday.


	2. Chapter 1

*~CHAPTER ONE~*

 _It has to be a dream,_ Mal told herself. _This couldn't be real._ She was sitting by the edge of a beautiful lake, on the stone floor of an ancient temple ruin, eating the most luscious strawberry. The forest all around her was lush and green, and the sound of the water rushing at her feet was soothing and peaceful. Even the very air all around her was sweet and fresh.

"Where am I?" She asked aloud, reaching for a plump grape from the gorgeous picnic set before her.

"Why we've been in Auradon for days now, and this is the Enchanted Lake," answered the boy seated next to her.

She hadn't noticed him until he spoke, but now that she had noticed, she was slightly relieved. The boy was tall, with tousled honey-brown hair, and painfully handsome with the kind of smile that melted hearts and made all the girls swoon.

"Ben?" she questioned. "Why are you dressed like some kind of prince or something?" She looked askance at his fine blue shirt embroidered with a small golden crest.

"You know I am a prince," Ben said with a smile. "And you are my princess."

Mal was even more relieved. "Then this _is_ a dream," she said with a crafty smile. "Because I'm no princess."

His face fell, but before he could answer, a voice boomed through the peaceful vista, darkening the skies and sending the water raging over the rocks.

"FOOLS! IDIOTS! MORONS!" it thundered.

Mal awoke with a start.

Her mother was yelling at her subjects from the balcony again. Maleficent ran the Isle of the Lost the way she did everything-with fear and loathing, not to mention a healthy supply of minions. Mal was used to the shouting, but it made for a seriously rude awakening. Her heart was still pounding from her dream when she felt a pair of arms tighten around her waist.

"Next time," the owner of the arms muttered, "we're sleeping at my place."

Mal couldn't help the smile that graced her lips as she turned her head to face the person in her bed. "You always say that Ben," she claimed. "And we always end up at mine."

She kissed his cheek adoringly. "You better leave before Mother finds out," Mal insisted with another peck. "You know she doesn't like us together."

"And that's why we're always at your place." Ben joked before giving Mal a quick kiss. "I'll meet you on the way to school."

Ben quickly fled through the window, already dressed for the day because that was all the clothing he owned. He wore the same clothing as he did as a child. Over the years, Lady Tremaine fixed his clothing to fit him better. He always borrowed her grandson's clothing, but he'd return them as soon as Lady Tremaine finished.

Ben lived in an abandoned building in the middle of the Isle. He found it the first week he arrived on the Isle and had been fixing it up as his own ever since. His house was basically the border of the two halves of the Isle. If Mal were to go past that building to the other side of the Isle, she wouldn't be safe, but Ben would be.

* * *

Mal headed to the Slop Shop across the street for her daily breakfast.

She studied the choices on the menu—black-like-your-soul coffee; sour-milk latte; crusty barley oatmeal with a choice of mealy apple or mushy banana; and stale, mixed cereal, dry or wet. There never many options. Nobody minded too much, though. Cream and sugar, fresh bread, and perfect pieces of fruit made people soft. Mal and the other banished villains preferred to be brittle and hard, inside and out.

"What do you want?" a surly goblin asked, demanding her order.

"The usual and make it snappy," said Mal, drumming her fingers on the counter.

"Room for month-old milk?"

"Do I look like I want curd? Give me the strongest, blackest coffee you've got! What is this Auradon?"

The runty creature grunted, wiggling the boil on his nose, and pushed a dark, murky cup toward her. She grabbed it and ran out the door without paying.

"YOU LITTLE BRAT! I'LL BOIL _YOU_ IN THE COFFEEPOT NEXT TIME!" the goblin shrieked.

She cackled. "Not if you can't catch me first!"

The goblins never learned. They had never found Princess Aurora either, but then again, the dimwits had been looking for a baby for eighteen years. No wonder Maleficent was always frustrated. It was so hard to find good help these days.

As Mal continued on her way, she felt something slip from her hands. "What in Lucifer's name?" Mal cried as the cup disappeared from her fingers. She hesitated for a second before realization hit. "Give it back, Jay," she said, hands on her hips, addressing the empty space on the sidewalk.

She heard a snicker. That boy thought it was so fun when she was mad. "Make me."

"Jay!" she snarled. "Make you what? Bruise? Bleed? Beg? Thief's choice today."

"Fine. Jeez," Jay said as he slunk out from the shadows. "Mmm, pressed hot mud, my favorite." He handed her back her cup, feeling wistful.

Mal took a sip and grimaced. "Actually, it's disgusting, you can have it. You look hungry."

"Really?" He perked up. "Thanks, Mal. I was starving."

"Don't thank me, it's particularly awful today. I think they threw some raw toads into the brew this morning."

"Bonus! Extra protein." Amphibians or not, Jay drained it one shot. He wiped his lips and smiled. "Thanks, you're a pal." In all honestly, he and Mal weren't exactly friends, more like partners in crime.

In the next moment, Ben appeared with an arm wrapped around his beloved and his own cup of coffee. Mal quickly stole his drink and took a sip of her own. It was a daily routine of theirs: Jay stealing her coffee and Mal taking Ben's in its place. Mal wouldn't admit it, but she preferred the coffee that her boyfriend usually gets than the one she steals.

After giving her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek as a 'thank you', the trio fell into step on the walk to school. "Heard the news?" Jay wondered.

"What news? There's no new news," Ben retorted, meaning nothing new ever happened on the island. The island's televisions only broadcast two channels—Auradon News Network and the Dungeon Shopping Channel.

"Slow down," Mal ordered the boys, "or we'll get there on time."

They turned off the main road, toward the uneven, broken-down graveyard that was the front lawn of Dragon Hall.

"No way, I heard news. Real news," Jay insisted, his heavy combat boots stomping through the root-ripped graveyard terrain. "Check it out—there's a new girl in class."

"Yeah, right."

"I'm totally serious," he said narrowly avoiding stumbling over a doomstone inscribed with the phrase IT IS BETTER TO HAVE NEVER LOVED AT ALL THAN TO BE LOVED.

"New girl? From where, exactly?" Mal asked. Nothing and no one came in or out of the magical dome, so there wasn't ever a whole lot of _new_.

"New to us. She's been castle-schooled until now, so it's her first time in the dungeon," said Jay as the crowd gathered around the entrance parted to let them through.

"Really." Mal stopped in her tracks, forcing Ben to do the same. "What do you mean, 'castle-schooled'?"

"A real princess too, is what I've heard. Think I could lift a crown off her somewhere? Even half-crown . . . ?"

"A princess?" Ben wondered curiously. "I didn't know the Isle had one."

Mal's voice was suddenly acid. "You've never met her. She was banished the same day I found you. She certainly would not dare to show her face around here."

 _Bells._ Ringing and echoing through the island from the top of the tower, where Claudine Frollo was tugging the rope and being pulled up along with it as she rang in the official start of the Dragon Hall school day.

The trio shared a smirk. They were officially tardy. The first thing that had gone right all morning.

They passed through the crumbling and moss-covered archway and into the main tomb, which was bussing with activity. Frightened students scrambled to get out of their way as the trio walked past the dead ivy-covered great hall toward the rusting double doors that led to the underground class-tombs.

Jay suddenly asked, "Why not just throw a party of your own instead of sulking about it?"

"What are you talking about?" said Mal. "As if I care."

Jay didn't reply; he was too busy hugging himself tightly. The temperature had dropped the usual twenty degrees as they ventured down the cold marble stairs to the damp basement gloom of campus.

"Are either one of you going to tell me about this 'party'?" Ben questioned in the same confused tone.

Mal sighed, but she explained to her boyfriend, "The princess didn't invite me to her birthday party ten years ago, which is why she and her mother was banished. I got over the fact that I wasn't invited when I realized something."

"Which was . . . ?"

She gave a sincere smile, one that only Ben was ever allowed to see, as she revealed, "I never would have found you if I was invited to that party. You probably would have died and I never would have you as a boyfriend."

The couple shared a quick kiss as all others pretended not to have seen it. Afterwards, Mal had gone silent for a moment, and the boys assumed she was still brooding on what happened ten years ago, when she suddenly snapped her fingers and said, with a wicked gleam in her eyes. "You're absolutely right, Jay. You're a genius!"

"I am?" Jay wondered before correcting himself, "I mean, yes, I am."

Ben rolled his eyes before asking, "And what is he right about?"

"Having a party of my own," Mal insisted. "There's a lot to celebrate, after all. Jay just said there was a new princess in our midst. So I'm going to throw a party."

Jay goggled at her. "You are? I mean, I was just kidding. Everyone knows you hate . . ."

"Parties." Mal nodded. "But not this one. You'll see. It's going to be a real howler." She grinned. "Especially for the new kid."

Jay smiled back weakly, wishing he had never mentioned it. When Mal got like this, it usually had terrible consequences.

She looked at her beloved half-expectantly. "Do you think you can go if I have one this weekend?"

"I doubt it," Ben denied. "You know I visit Gil every Saturday and we stay at my place until Sunday morning."

You see, he and Gil-the youngest son of Gaston-became friends a couple days after Ben arrived on the Isle. Ben visits him every weekend on the other side of the Isle because Gil isn't welcomed on Ben's side-long story. Mal would go with him, but she isn't allowed on Gil's side because of a feud she had with someone on that side-another long story.

Mal shivered as a cold wind blew past them. "Why is the school so cold today?"

"I'll go by my place really quick and grab you a blanket." Ben offered as he pecked her forehead. "I'll be back in a few."

He let go of his girlfriend of three years and jogged out of the school.

Jay shivered as well. There definitely was a chill in the air-a new wild wind was blowing, and he was smart enough to worry about where it would lead.


	3. Chapter 2

*~CHAPTER TWO~*

Evie, the daughter of the Evil Queen, was excited about her first of school. Within ten minutes two handsome boys, the twin sons of Gaston-Gaston Jr. and Gaston the Third—was leading her down the winding hallway of the school. The stone walls were covered in the same pea-green moss as outside, and seemed to be leaking some sort of brown liquid all over the dusty cement floor.

Finally, they arrived at the classroom's arched wooden door. Evie stepped inside and made her way to the nearest open desk, smiling at those who came to gather curiously around her. Everyone was looking at her with such awe and admiration, she seemed to be making waves.

The desk she'd chosen had a remarkably large cauldron and a great view of the professor's lectern. She took a seat, and there was a gasp in the crowd. These kids were sure easy to please.

Evie was feeling pretty good about her first day until she heard the sound of a throat clearing.

When she looked up, there was a pretty, purple-haired girl standing in front of her cauldron, staring at her with unmistakable venom. Evie felt a cold dread as the memory of a certain infamous party came flooding back. Maybe if she played dumb and flattered her, the girl wouldn't remember what had happened ten years ago. It was worth a shot.

"I'm Evie. What's your name?" Evie asked innocently, although she knew exactly who was standing in front of her. "And by that way, that ring is amazing. It looks great on you—I love the gold color."

"Girl, that's her cauldron. You should bounce," a student Evie would find out later was named Yzla whispered loudly.

"Oh, this is yours . . . ?" Evie asked the purple-haired girl.

The purple-haired girl nodded.

"I had no idea this was your desk, I'm so sorry! But it has such a great view of the lectern," Evie said with her trademarked bright smile, so blinding, it should have come with sunglasses.

"Yes, it does," the purple-haired girl replied, her voice soft and menacing. "And if you don't move your blue-haired caboose out of it, you'll get some kind of view, all right." She snarled, brusquely brushing past Evie and noisily plonking her backpack in the middle of the cauldron.

Evie got the message, grabbed her things, and found an empty cauldron in the back of the classroom, behind a column where she couldn't see the blackboard.

"Is that who I think it is?" she asked the small boy seated next to her, whose hair was black at the roots but white at the tip. Actually, everything he wore was black and white with a splash of red. It was a pretty cool look, for a bloody skunk.

"If you mean Mal, you're right, and I would stay out of her way if I were you," he warned.

"Mal . . ." Evie breathed, her voice trembling nervously.

"Yeah. Her mom's the Big Bad around here. You know—" He made horn signs with his hands on either side of his head. You didn't need to have lived on Isle for long to know exactly whom he was talking about. Nobody dared speak her name, not unless absolutely necessary.

Evie gulped. Her first day, and she's already made the worst enemy in school.

 _Magic Mirror on the wall, who's the stupidest of them all?_

* * *

Carlos De Vil looked up from the contraption he was assembling and shot the new girl a shy smile. "It'll be okay. Mal just likes to be left alone," he said. "She's not as tough as she seems, just ask her boyfriend. She only talks a big game."

"She does? What about you?" the blue-haired princess wondered.

"I don't have a game. Unless you consider getting beat up and pushed around a game, which in a way I guess it is. But really, it's not that entertaining, unless you happen to be the one doing the beat and the pushing."

"I'm Evie," she introduced herself. "What's your name?"

"I'm Carlos De Vil," he informed. "We met once before, at your birthday party." He'd recognized her the minute she walked in. She looked exactly the same, just taller.

"Oh. Sorry. I don't remember much about the party. Except how it ended."

Carlos nodded. "Yeah. Anyways, I'm also your neighbor. I live just down the street in Hell Hall."

"You do? But I thought no one lived there but that crazy lady and . . ." Evie suddenly widened her eyes as a student walked in the classroom. "Who is that handsome guy over there?"

Carlos turned his head slightly. After quickly realizing she was talking about Ben, he claimed, "He's taken."

Evie gazed at him admiringly. The two watched as Mal smiled kindly, standing from her seat. Ben sat at her seat and helped wrap a fuzzy blanket around her. Afterwards, she took a seat on his lap and nestled her face against his neck lovingly as he kept his arms protectively around her.

" _That's_ her boyfriend?" Evie whispered to Carlos incredulously. "How?"

"Love at first sight?" Carlos guessed with a shrug. "No one really knows. I do know some parts of their story. Apparently, Ben asked Jay for permission to ask Mal out on a date because Maleficent hates him for some reason and Jay is like an older brother to her. They went out on their first date a few days after her thirteenth birthday. No one really knows how long they have been truly together. Mal says they've been together for three years while Ben says ten."

"Ten years." Evie repeated. "How is that possible?"

"He means they've been together since they first met," Carlos explained. "Mal would blush when he tells people that and slaps his arm in embarrassment before he kisses her cheek as a sort of apology. Over the years they've gained the nickname 'King and Queen of the Isle'."

Evie peered over the other classmates to look at Mal's hand. "Where did she get the ring?"

"It was a gift from Ben," he answered nonchalantly. "It was the only thing Ben owned when he came to the Isle. He gave it to Mal on her sixteenth birthday. A lot of people speculated that it was an engagement ring."

"I've seen that ring somewhere," she claimed. "I know I have."

"It's just a ring." Carlos basically snapped. "Nothing more."

Evie decided to let the matter drop, but as she watched the loving couple interact, she couldn't help thinking that Carlos was hiding something-

Along with the 'King and Queen of the Isle'.


	4. Chapter 3

*~CHAPTER THREE~*

Class ended, and students began to file out of the classroom. Evie asked Carlos what his next subject was, and looked happy to discover they both had Lady Tremaine for Evil Schemes. "That's another advanced class—you must have a really high EQ," he told her. Only those who boasted off-the-charts evil quotients were allowed to take it. "It's this way," he said, motioning up the stairs.

But before they could get too far, a cold voice cut through the chatter. "Why, if it isn't Carlos De Vil," it said behind them.

Carlos would know that voice anywhere. It was the second-most terrifying on the island. When he turned, Mal was standing right behind him, next to Jay and Ben. Even though a blanket was wrapped around—along with Ben's arm, Mal still looked as vicious as ever. Carlos automatically checked his pockets to make sure nothing had disappeared.

"Hey, Mal," he greeted trying to appear nonchalant. Mal never spoke to anyone except to scare them or to complain that they were in her way. "What's up?"

"Your mom's away at the Spa this weekend, isn't she?" Mal asked, elbowing Jay, who snickered.

Carlos nodded. The Spa was Cruella's one bit of comfort, her one reminder of her luxurious past. How far the De Vils had fallen, just like the rest of the Isle.

"Y-yes," he said uncertainly, unsure if that was the correct answer even though it was the truthful one.

"Right answer," Mal said and patted him on the head. "I can't exactly give a party at my place without my mother yelling at everyone, not to mention the whole flying crockery issue."

Carlos sighed. Like the rest of the Isle, he knew parties brought out Maleficent's worst behavior. There was nothing she hated more than people openly having fun.

"Ben's place is out of the question—don't need people going through our stuff. And we can't have it at Jay's because his dad will try to hypnotize everyone into being his servants again," Mal continued.

"Totally," agreed Jay.

Carlos nodded again, although he wasn't sure where this was leading.

"Perfect. Party at your house. Tonight."

"Wait, what? Tonight?" He blanched. "I can't have a party! I mean you should understand, my mom doesn't really like it when people come over—and, um, I've got a lot of work to do—I have to fluffs her furs, iron her undergarments, I mean—" He gulped, embarrassed.

Mal ignored him. "Spread the news. Hell Hall's having a hell-raiser." She seemed to warm to the thought. "Get the word out. Activate the twilight bark, or whatever it is you puppies do."

"Bowwow," barked Jay with a laugh. Even Ben cracked a smile at the timeless joke.

Carlos glared at the three of them, in spite of himself. "Why tonight, a Thursday of all days? Why not wait till tomorrow?"

Mal narrowed her eyes. "Because Ben wouldn't be able to go."

"There's a party?" Evie asked shyly. Carlos had gotten she was standing right next to him, and he jumped at the sound of her voice.

"Eavesdrop much?" Mal snarled at her, although it was obvious Evie couldn't help it, as she was standing right there.

Ben tightened his grip as a warning to tone it down. Mal sighed. "Of course there is. The party of the year. A real rager, didn't you hear?" Mal looked her up and down and shook her head sadly. "Oh, I guess you didn't hear." She mocked-winced, looking at Carlos conspiratorially. "Everyone's going to be there."

"They are?" Carlos looked confused. "But you only just told me to have it—" He quickly got the message. "Everyone," he agreed.

Evie smiled. "Sounds awesome. I haven't been to a party in a long, long time."

Mal raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I'm sorry. This is a very exclusive party, and I'm afraid you didn't get an invitation."

"Babe," Ben chided as he squeezed her more, "you said you were over it."

Mal smiled lovingly at her boyfriend. "I _am_. But am I not allowed to have a little fun with the new girl?"

His only answer was a kiss to the temple, which made her smile even more.

Evie finally had to ask, "Do I know you?"

Mal, Jay, and Carlos had a panicked look on their face. Ben's remained neutral as he claimed, "No, you don't. I've never seen you before today, so there's no way you could know me."

"But you seem very familiar," the princess argued. After a moment, she tilted her in curiosity and familiarity. "Were you on the Auradon News Network?"

Mal freaked.

Her breathing immediately quickened to an unnaturally rapid pace. A numbness formed in her hands, mainly in her fingers. She shivered erratically even though she had a warm blanket around her. The chest pains that formed a few moments later confirmed her fear.

She was having another panic attack.

Ben recognized the signs the moment is started. "Deep breaths," he instructed calmly as he took her hand in his. "Close your eyes and picture your happy place— _our_ happy place."

Mal did as she was told and slowly she was returning to normal. Ben urged her to walk down the hall, away from the confused princess. Jay took a menacing step toward Evie, but Carlos quickly got between them.

"She doesn't know," the white-haired boy defended. "Nobody has told her yet-"

"And it's going to stay that way," growled Jay. "She won't be allowed to know the truth until she apologizes."

Evie couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Apologize!" She exclaimed. "For what? I didn't do anything!"

Jay glared at her. "You upset our Queen. You better hope she doesn't think of anything deadly for revenge."

* * *

"Mal," Ben cooed affectionately. "Mal, my love, will you look at me?"

The couple was currently alone in their next class. Mal was sobbing uncontrollably in a front row seat while Ben was knelt next to her. He was trying his hardest to cheer her up, but nothing seemed to work.

Reluctantly, Mal looked at her beloved, and he could see that her eyes were already bloodshot from less than a minute of crying.

He took her hand—the one that had his ring, in both of his. "I made a promise to you when we first met," he reminded, "that I wouldn't leave the Isle without you."

"But that princess-"

"Won't say a word," he calmly insisted, "because she has no idea who I am. I look familiar because of my clothing—that's it. There is no way she can know who I am by only seeing me for three minutes. We didn't know who I was for six years. Everything will be fine."

"Promise?" Mal questioned childishly as she let out a sniffle.

"I promise," he concurred, and he meant it.

The purple-haired girl let a small brave smile grace her previously saddened face. "I love you," she confessed.

Ben smiled at her words and for hearing her beautiful voice. "I love you too."

When the other students walked into the room, the first thing they saw was the couple kissing-

But they knew better than to say anything.


	5. Chapter 4

*~CHAPTER FOUR~*

"Well, you had looked very pleased with yourself," said Jay as he entered the classroom and walked over to the couple. Just like the last class, Ben was sitting in the chair while Mal was comfortably on his lap. "Carlos looked like he was going to have a cow when you told him he was hosting your party."

The thief knows exactly what to do after Mal has her panic attacks. The first thing to do, _never_ bring it up. Mal will just pretend she didn't have one and it's best that he or anyone else plays along. If you insist that she had one, she'll have another one soon after.

Next, change the subject. Mal lingers on the memory, so he found it's always best to make her think of something else. Jay usually talks about the misery and misfortune of others to cheer her up.

"You mean a dog?" Mal laughed shallowly, even though the joke was getting old.

Jay elbowed her with a wink before melting away to his desk in the back of the room. Ben kissed her temple to cheer her up a little more.

Mal was in a slightly better mood. This class was her favorite: Advanced Evil Schemes and Nasty Tricks, taught by Lady Tremaine, otherwise known as the Wicked Stepmother. Mal was particularly fond of the old woman—she was like a grandmother to her.

"Hello, you dreadful children," Lady Tremaine said as she entered the room with a swish of her petticoats and casting a bored look at the class in front of her. "Today we will embark on our annual class project: Crafting the Ultimate Evil Scheme."

"As you well know," she began, "the goal of every teacher at Dragon Hall is to train the new generation of villains not to make the same mistakes we did."

Ben tensed during the lectures and resorted to tightening his hold on Mal to get rid of his discomfort. She nestled her head against his neck lovingly. Luckily, he became a little less tense.

Lady Tremaine's rant continued. "You must learn to adapt, to be faster, more cunning, and wickeder than ever before. You will spend this year working on an evil scheme of your choosing. The student with the best nasty trick will win Dragon Hall's Evilest of the Year award."

The class nodded their heads in unison, each filling with a variety of ideas for awful tricks.

The teacher turned her attention to the couple. "As usual, Ben, you are exempt from the project."

Ben merely nodded as he watched his beloved work. Mal scratched her nose with the end of her purple-plumed fountain pen, wondering what her year-long scheming project would be. She looked around the room at her fellow students scribbling away on the notepads, brows furrowed, some cackling softly under their breaths. Meanwhile her mind was completely blank.

"I guess that's the drawback of you being Queen," Ben muttered in her ear as he read her nonexistent thoughts. "We've been focused on making everyone's life better that you don't know _who_ the recipient of the evil scheme should be."

Across the room, Mal heard a soft giggle. She looked over her shoulder to find that annoying new girl Evie chatting cheerfully with Carlos De Vil as they played with some sort of black box on his desk. Ugh. That girl had nothing to be happy about. Why, hadn't she, Mal, just told her she couldn't come to the howler of the year? Mal was slightly disconcerted for a moment, until she realized: the evil scheme of the year was right in front of her.

A twisted smile formed on her lips, and she chewed her fountain pen for a moment before scribbling a page's worth of notes.

She would show that blue-haired princess a thing or two.

Of course, she'd already told Evie that she couldn't come to the party, but that wasn't _enough_. It was too simple, too blunt. Mal had to be sneaky, like Lady Tremaine had been, pretending to be working in Cinderella's best interests when she had been doing the exact opposite.

Mal wanted to do more than ruin Evie's day, she wanted to ruin her _year_ for almost recognizing Ben. On second thought, maybe keeping Evie out of the party was the wrong move. If Evie wasn't there, then Mal wouldn't have the opportunity to torture her to her heart's delight.

Mal finished writing down her plans just as the bell rang and they caught up to Jay, who was all cheer and charm—and by the time they reached the door, his pockets were full of much more than that.

"Hold up," Mal said as she spotted Carlos and Evie coming toward them.

Evie looked genuinely fearful and Carlos wary as they approached Mal, who blocked the doorway.

"Hey, Evie, you know that party I'm having?" Mal asked.

Evie nodded. "Um, yeah?"

"I was only kidding earlier," Mal said with the sweetest smile she could manage. " _Of course_ you're invited."

"I am?" Evie squealed. "Are you sure you want me there?"

"I don't want anything more in the world," said Mal grandly, and truthfully. "Don't miss it."

"I won't," promised Evie with a nervous smile.

Mal watched her and Carlos skitter away with satisfaction. Jay raised an eyebrow. "What was all that about? I thought you didn't want her there," he said, as he deftly stole a rotten banana from a first-year's lunch pail.

"Plans change."

"An evil scheme, huh?" Jay waggled _both_ eyebrows.

"Maybe," Mal said mysteriously, not wanting to give anything away. It wasn't like Jay could be trusted. "Thieves' honor" meant neither of them had any.

"Come on. It's me. The only one you can stand on this island." Jay took a quick glance at Ben. "I mean—one of the two people you stand on the island."

"Don't flatter yourself," Mal said, only half smiling.

"Don't you hate parties? You didn't go to Anthony Tremaine's kickback the other week, and you missed my cousin Jade's 'Scary Sixteenth.' They were off-the-hook, as the pirate posse would say." He smirked.

"Those were different. Anyway, you need to hop to it. Carlos can't throw my party alone." She grabbed his arm. "We need jugs of spicy cider, bags of stale potato chips, sparking slop, the works."

Jay peeled the banana and took a bite. "Done."

"And make sure it's the good stuff from the wharf, from the first boats. I've got a reputation to uphold."

"What will you be doing until the party?"

"She will be helping me with my project for my Selfies Seminar class." Ben informed as he brought his beloved closer to him. "We're supposed to do self-portraits and Mal's going be in mine. After all, a king can't be in a picture without his queen."

Mal gave him a peck on the cheek at his words as Jay tossed his banana peel on the floor. The trio watched gleefully as a fellow student slipped and fell. Things like that never got old.

Mal smiled, her green eyes glittering a little more like her mother's than usual. "Let's go. I have a party to throw." _And someone to throw it at._


	6. Chapter 5

*~CHAPTER FIVE~*

More than an hour after the party had officially started, there was a sharp knock on the door. It wasn't clear what made this knock different from all the others, but different it was. Carlos leapt to his feet like a soldier suddenly called to attention. Jay stopped dancing with a posse of evil step-granddaughters. The Gastons looked up from the buffet table. Little Sammy Smee held an apple between his teeth questioningly.

Carlos steadied his nerves and opened the door. "Go away!" he yelled, using the island's traditional greeting.

Mal and Ben stood in the doorway and as usual Ben's arm was around her waist. Backlit by the dim hall light, in a beautiful purple and black dress, she appeared to have not so much a halo as a shimmer. It took Carlos a moment to realize she got all dressed up because of her title as 'Queen.' He was half-tempted to bow, but thought better of it at the last second.

Perhaps, he should have felt excited that such an infamous personality had decided to come to his party.

Er, _her_ party.

There would be no unplugging this party like on of his rebuilt stereos, not once it had begun, especially not the sort of party Mal seemed to have in mind.

"Hey, Carlos," Ben greeted. "Are we late?"

"Not at all," said Carlos. "Come in."

"Excited to see us?" Mal wondered with a smile.

He nodded yes. Except that Carlos wasn't excited.

He was _terrified_.

Somewhere, deep down, he even wanted his mommy.

* * *

"Toad's-blood shots!" declared Mal, leaping into the room as if she were just another guest. "For everyone!"

And just like that, the party began again, as quickly as it had stopped. It was like the entire room exhaled in one relieved breath.

Mal could see their relief on their faces, and she didn't blame them. They were right. The way she'd been feeling, it was certainly something to celebrate.

So the crowd cheered, and toad's-blood shots splashed across the room by the cupful, and Mal, in a show of generous sportsmanship, chugged a slimy cup right along with the rest.

She circled the party with Ben following protectively behind her. She pilfered a wallet from one of the Gastons, stopped to share a mean giggle with Ginny Gothel about the dress Harriet Hook was wearing, ducked under an overenthusiastic pirate swinging from the chandelier, took a bite out of someone else's devil dog, and grabbed a mouthful of dry popcorn. She walked into the hallway and bumped into Jay, who was out of breath after winning the latest dance-off.

"Having fun?" he asked.

She shrugged as did Ben. Ben wondered, "Where'd Carlos go?"

Jay laughed and pointed toward a pair of black shoes poking out from behind a sheet covering the biggest of the bookcases. "Hiding from his own party. Typical."

Mal knew how Carlos felt, though she'd never admit it. Truly, she'd rather be almost anywhere on the whole Isle than at the party. But a vendetta was a vendetta, and she had more planned for this evening than just Deep, Dark, Secret or Death-Defying Dare.

She turned to Ben and adorably requested, "Will you get me a glass of spicy cider? I will give you a kiss if you do."

"With a bribe like that, how can I say no?" teased Ben. He kissed her temple affectionately. "Be back in a few."

Mal waited until he was out of hearing range before she dropped her smile. "Where's Princess Blueberry?" she wondered. "I did a whole loop of this party, and I didn't see her anywhere."

"You mean Evie? She's not here yet. Nobody seems to know if she's coming or not." Jay shrugged. "Castle kids."

"She has to come. She's the whole point. She's the only reason I'm even having this stupid party." Mal hated when her evil schemes didn't go exactly as planned. This was the first step in _Operation Take Down Evie, Or Else_ , and it _had_ to work.

"What are you two doing?" asked Anthony Tremaine, Lady Tremaine's sixteen-year-old grandson, a tall, elegant boy with dark hair swept off a haughty forehead. His clothes were as worn and ragged as everyone else's on the Isle, but somehow he always looked as if he was wearing custom tailoring. At one point he'd tried to get everyone on the Isle to call him Lord Tremaine, but the villain kids had all just laughed in his face. It didn't help his ego when a week later they started calling Ben and Mal 'King and Queen of the Isle.'

"Just talking," said Mal.

"Evil plotting," said Jay.

They looked at each other.

"Do you want something?" Mal asked Anthony coolly.

"Yes. To dance." Anthony looked at her expectantly.

She looked at him, confused. "Wait—with _me_?" He couldn't be serious. Did he not realize she was taken? By the King of the Isle, no less.

"Well, I didn't mean _him,_ " Anthony said, looking awkwardly at Jay. "No offense, man."

"None taken." Jay grinned broadly, knowing how uncomfortable this made Mal. He found it hilarious. "You two kids go have fun out there. Anthony, make sure you pick a slow song," he said, as he slid away. "I have a step-granddaughter waiting for me."

Mal growled at the fleeing betrayer.

"I can't dance with you," she denied harshly, "and I'm not going to."

"Why not?" he questioned. "I'm a good dancer."

"Let me clarify for you." Mal's eyes started to glow as she got riled up. "I can't dance with you because I have a boyfriend. You know, Ben? My boyfriend of three years, also known as the 'King of the Isle.'"

Anthony shrugged nonchalantly. "He doesn't have to find out."

An arm wrapped around Mal's waist before she could give him a snippy response. Of course, the person that invaded her personal space was none other than Ben. He glared vehemently at Anthony. "I believe my queen told you no, so _back off_ before I lose my temper."

Anthony took a cautious step back as Mal wrapped her own arm around her beloved to calm him down. Without saying another word and in a hot second, Anthony had already asked Harriet Hook to dance, and she'd accepted with a delighted shriek.

Mal exhaled as Ben became less tense. "Thank you for coming to my rescue," she cooed affectionately, carefully taking the glass of spicy cider. She took a sip of the drink, only then realizing how dry her lips. " _And_ for getting my drink," she added with a smile. She pecked his cheek in hopes of diverting his attention. "There's your kiss!"

Ben finally broke his gaze to look at his beloved. He arched an eyebrow with a smile of his own. "That's not the kiss I wanted."

Before Mal could tease him, half a second pass which was all Ben needed to place her cup on a nearby shelf, move her against the wall with both hands on her waist, and kiss her breath away.

At this point of the story—five chapters and a prologue, you may be wondering why no one criticizes them about their affection. When they first started dating three years ago, they displayed the first real positive emotion on the Isle. Almost all the villains felt a little nostalgic, so they decided they wouldn't take away their love for each other.

 _Almost_.

Of course, Maleficent doesn't approve of their relationship. Ben and Mal always have to sneak around when the latter's mother was within ten yards of them. The other villains always help them do so. There have been multiple occasions when the couple would be at the market place and Ben would have to hide behind a stand when Maleficent was near.

At first people wondered why Maleficent disproved of them, but then they found out Ben's secret-

Which you'll discover in a different chapter.

* * *

About twenty minutes later, Mal was slow dancing with Ben to a fast beat song when she suddenly perked up. It wasn't because of the perky song but because, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Evie through the floor-to-ceiling window in the foyer. She was coming down the road in a brand-new rickshaw, her pretty V-braid gleaming in the moonlight. Mal's eyes wandered over the room and rested upon a familiar-looking door.

It was the door that led to Cruella De Vil's storage closet. Mal only knew it was there because she and Carlos had once accidentally come across it when they were working on a skit about evil family trees in sixth grade, and Mal had been bored and had decided to go poking around Hell Hall. Cruella's closet was not for the faint of heart.

"I'll be back," she promised to Ben, giving him a quick peck before removing herself from his arms.

"Jay," she said to the boy that was within arms-length, motioning to the front door. "Let me know when Evie arrives."

"Huh? What? Why?"

"You'll see," she told him.

"All part of the evil scheme, huh?" he said, happy to do her bidding. Jay was always up for a good prank.

But Carlos went white-faced when he saw where Mal was heading. "Don't—" he shouted. He took off his sheet, almost tipping over the fabric in an attempt to get to the door before Mal could open it all the way.

It slammed shut. Just in time.

But Mal crossed her arms. She wasn't backing down from this one. It was just too perfect.

Mal raised her voice. "New game! Seven Minutes in Heaven! And you've never played Seven Minutes if you haven't played it in a De Vil closet."

The words were barely out of Mal's mouth before most of the evil step-granddaughters practically trampled her to get to the door. They loved playing Seven Minutes and were enthusiastically wondering with whom they would end up inside. A few puckered their lips at Jay, who was stationed by the front door like a sentry.

"Who wants to go first?" Mal asked.

"Me! Me! Me!" yelped the step-granddaughters.

"She does," Jay called, holding a very recognizable blue cape.

"I do? What do I want to do?" asked the cape's owner.

Mal smiled.

Evie had arrived.

"Evie, sweetie! So glad you could make it!" Mal claimed, throwing her arms theatrically around the girl and giving her a giant and fake embrace. "We're playing Seven Minutes in Heaven! Want to play?"

"Uh, I don't know," said Evie, looking around the party nervously.

"It'll be a scream," said Mal. "Come on, you want to be my friend, don't you?"

Evie stared at Mal. "You want _me_ to be your friend?"

"Sure—why not?" Mal led her to the closet door and opened it.

"But doesn't a boy go in here with me?" Evie asked as Mal shoved her inside the storage room.

"Did I say Seven Minutes in Heaven? No, you're playing _Seven Minutes in Hell_!" Mal cackled; she couldn't help it. This was going to be so much fun.

The crowd around the hallway had scattered in fear after it was clear Mal had no interest in having other people join the game.

But Carlos remained standing, his face as white as the tips of his hair. "Mal, what are you doing?"

"Playing a dirty trick—what does it _look_ like I'm doing?"

"You can't leave her in there! Remember what happened to us?" he asked, motioning angrily to his leg, which had two distinct white scars on the calf. "If she's not able to get out on her own, I'm going to have to clean up the mess! And my mother will freak out! You can't leave her in there!" he whispered fiercely, anxiety about Cruella's punishment written all over his face.

"Fine, go get her," said Mal with a sly smile on _her_ face, knowing full well that he wouldn't.

Carlos quaked in his scuffed loafers. Mal knew there was nothing he wanted to do less than go back in there again. He remembered all too well what happened to him and Mal in sixth grade.

There was a scream behind the door.

Mal wiped her hands. "You want her out? You get her out." Her job was done.

Her evil scheme had worked. This was going to be a real howler.


	7. Chapter 6

*~CHAPTER SIX~*

The chorus of snapping metal jaws rang through the darkness, steel blades against steel blades, as Evie ran screaming toward the back door of the closet. The traps slammed shut, _BAM BAM BAM_ , one after another, one a hairbreadth away from her stocking while another almost caught her heel as she turned the door handle, left the room, and shut the door behind her.

But just as she thought she was safe, she realized she had plunged right into a dark, furry presence.

Was it a bear? A horrible shaggy monster? Evie twisted and turned, but only succeeded in wrapping herself deeper in the fur—dense, think, woolly fur— _with two armholes?_

She was trapped in a fur coat! Evie tried to shake it off, tried to shrug off her shoulders, but she was smack-dab in the middle of dozens of coats, all of them black or white or black _and_ white, made of the thickest, lushest hides. This was Cruella De Vil's closet, her wondrous collection, her obsession, her greatest weakness.

And those fur traps back there were her security system, just in case anyone got too close to the stuff.

Evie finally managed to untangle herself and push aside the wall of fur, just as a hand grasped her wrist and pulled her through to the other side.

"You okay?" It was Carlos.

Evie took a deep breath. "Yes. I think so. Do I win the game?" she asked drily.

Carlos laughed. "Mal's going to be annoyed you survived."

"Where are we?" Evie looked around. There was a lumpy mattress on the floor next to an ironing board and a washbasin, along with a vanity table that held a dozen of white-and-black wigs.

When Carlos looked embarrassed, she realized it was his bedroom. Cruella's fur closet opened onto a dressing room, where her son slept.

"Oh."

Carlos shrugged. "It's home."

"It's not so bad in here, really!" Evie said. "I'm sure it's cozy and, hey, you'll never catch a cold. You can just use one of her fur coats for a blanket, right?" It was awfully drafty in the room: like her own home, Hell Hall wasn't insulated for winter.

Carlos shook his head. "I'm not allowed to touch them," he insisted, trying to put the furs back in order. They were so heavy, and there were so many of them. "I'll fix them later. She doesn't come back till Sunday."

Evie nodded. "This is all my mother's fault. If she hadn't tried to challenge Maleficent's leadership when they first came to the Isle, none of this would have happened."

"Your mother actually _challenged_ Maleficent?" Carlos goggled. It was unheard of.

"Well, she is a queen, after all," Evie pointed out. "Yeah, she was angry that everyone on the island decided to follow Maleficent instead of her. And now here we are, Mal hating me for not being invi-."

"But that's not what Mal's mad about," Carlos bluntly pointed out. "She's angry about something completely different, but she'll get over it."

"Are you kidding? A grudge is a grudge is a grudge. She'll never forgive me. Didn't you listen in Selfie class? I thought you were so smart." Evie smiled wryly. "Oh well, I should just face it. Go back to our castle and never come out."

"But you're not, right?"

"No, I guess not." Evie put away her compact that she used to fix her makeup. "Hey," she began softly. "I have an old comforter I never use. I mean, if you get cold and you can't. . . Oh, never mind. Forget I said anything."

"No, no, bring it. I mean, no one's ever cared whether I'm warm or not," he said, blushing red as his voice trailed off. "Not that _you_ care, of course."

"I certainly don't!" agreed Evie. "We were going to throw it out."

"Excellent, just consider me home your Dumpster. Do you think you might have a pillow you were going to toss out too? I've never had a pillow." Carlos turned red again. "I mean, I've had _tons_ of pillows, of course. So many! We have to keep throwing them away. I get so many pillows. I mean, who's never had a pillow in their life? That's preposterous."

"Yeah, I think we were going to throw away a pillow," Evie said, turning just as red as Carlos, even as a warm, sunny sensation had taken over her chest. She changed the subject. "Still working on that machine of yours?"

"Yeah, wanna see?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure," Evie replied, following Carlos out of the room toward the back of the house, away from the party. Carlos slipped outside, holding the door open for Evie. "Where are we going?"

"To my lab," Carlos replied, pulling out a matchbook and lighting a candle to lead the way into the weedy backyard.

They approached a huge, gnarled tree with a rope ladder. Carlos started climbing up it. "I have to keep it all in my tree house. I'm afraid my mom is going to get some big ideas and turn my chemicals into makeup and hair products."

Evie scrambled up the ladder behind him. The tree house was more elaborate than any she'd ever seen, with miniature turrets and a tiny balcony that looked out onto the dark forest below. Inside, the walls were lines with shelves of glass beakers, vials, and jars containing various neon-colored liquids. In the corner sat a small, old television with about fifteen different antennas strapped to it.

"What is all this?" Evie asked, picking up a jar of something white and snowy.

"That's from the Chem Lab. I was trying see if I could use that sodium polyacrylate as a sponge when mixed with water," Carlos explained. "But here, this is what I wanted to show you." He pulled out the wire-box contraption he'd been working on in class. "I think I got the battery to work."

Carlos fiddled with a few buttons and flicked a few switches. It sputtered to life, then died. He tried again and this time it emitted a high-pitched squeal before dying again.

He looked up at Evie sheepishly. "Sorry, I thought I had it."

Evie looked at the black box. "Maybe try connecting this wire to that one?" she suggested.

Carlos peered at the wires. "You're right, they're in the wrong place." He switched the wire and hit the switch.

A powerful electric burst shot out of the box, sending Carlos and Evie flying back against the wall and falling to the floor. The beam of light burst up toward they plywood ceiling, blasting a hole in the tree-house roof and up to the sky.

They both scrambled out onto the tree-house balcony and stared up at the sky, where the light was streaking all the way up, through the clouds, up, up, up, all the way to the dome!

The light seared through the barrier as easily as it had burned a hole in the tree-house roof.

Lightning flashed, and the very earth shook with a supersonic rumble. For a second they could see through the dome and directly into the night sky. The black box began to emit a strange beeping noise.

Carlos and Evie scrambled back inside, and Carlos picked up the box. It was making a sound neither of them had ever heard before.

And for a brief moment, there was something on the television in the room, which had burst to life all of the sudden. The screen was flashing with so many different scenes it was dizzying. For a moment they saw a talking dog, thein is switched to a pair of teens who were nothing alike, and then it switched again to two teenage boys who seemed to be running a hospital for superheroes. Then the screen flickered and went dark again, and the box in Carlos's hands went dead.

Unbeknown to the two villain children, far off in the distance, deep in the heart of the forbidden fortress hidden behind a gray misty fog on the other side of the island, a long black scepter with a jewel on its end came back to like, glowing green with power again. The most powerful weapon of darkness had been awakened for a moment.

Next to the hidden staff, a stone statue of a raven began to vibrate, and when the bird began to shake its wings, the stone crumbled into dust, and in its place was that black-eyed fiend, that wicked fairy's familiar, the one and only Diablo, Maleficent's best and first friend.

However, that is not what the villains should be afraid of.

The electrical burst had turned on more than the television. All around the island there were cameras that the Auradonians had placed to keep an eye on the villains. A few days before Ben arrived at the Isle, the cameras stopped working. The guards intended to fix the devices, but an issue came up diverting them from the broken cameras-

Till now.

* * *

Mal was standing with Ben in the corner, nursing her spicy cider, when she noticed two figures trying to sneak their way toward the buffet table to grab a couple cans of expired sodas. It was Carlos, of course, and Princess Blueberry. Evie didn't look any worse for wear after spending time in Cruella's closet. There wasn't a scratch on her or even a run in her stocking. Ugh. Carlos must have helped her somehow, the ungrateful little twerp.

Mal sighed.

 _Foiled again._

The party was a bust. It was definitely time to go. Even the evil step-granddaughters looked tired of pretending to hate being chased by the rowdy pirates.

Mal and Ben left the party without a backwards glance. Luckily, Mal's sour mood turned bright and happy on her walk home. Ben, like always, had his arm wrapped around her while she did the same with him. He told her multiple stories that were most likely false, but it made her laugh so much that it didn't matter.

When they came to her front door, Ben reluctantly let go of her. "I'll meet you at your window in about ten," he promised. "We don't need your mother catching us."

"But she hasn't yet," Mal pointed out optimistically.

Ben didn't argue with his beloved. "I'm gonna go to my place to make sure nothing was messed with and then I'll be back. Do you want me to grab anything?"

Mal thought for a moment or two before deciding, "I want you to give me the first flower that you see on your walk."

He didn't hide his surprise. "That's a peculiar request. Why a flower?"

She smiled. "So I know that there is another pure thing on this Isle besides you."

Her response gave her the reward of a kiss. However, she didn't realize that when she placed her hand on Ben's cheek—

She revealed Ben's secret.


	8. AUTHOR'S NOTE

_**This is not a chapter!**_

 **I'm sorry those of you who were expecting one. I'm posting this on two of my stories so some of you might see this twice. If you want to stop reading this, you can and you'll have the next chapter of the story later, but not tonight or tomorrow. If you are reading this once or twice, I would like your opinion on something.**

 **You see, yesterday night when I was working on my story Raised on the Isle, I was also watching/listening to a movie. The movie had me come up with an unusual idea, which also explains why I'm typing and reading this with an English accent in my mind.**

 **The incredible movie was Alice Through the Looking Glass.**

 **I was watching the movie while I had Descendants on my mind. I kept thinking about how the Descendants version of Alice-though you never meet her-is the grown up version from her first time going to Wonderland when she was a child. Then I thought about how the Queen of Hearts/Red Queen isn't mentioned on being on the Isle, or at least from what I remember. The only time I remember her being mentioned is in the School of Secret book Freddie's Shadow Cards.**

 **Then I remembered Alice's daughter, Ally-who is super into everything Underland, but no one seems to believe her.**

 **That's where my story idea comes in. It's going to take a bit to explain so bear with me:**

 **I was thinking that students in Auradon Prep would have this sort of assignment for upcoming Family Day that is worth a grade. They are grouped together by Fairy Godmother and they have to perform a song/dance based on one of the legendary tales. Freddie, Jordan, and Ally are paired together mainly. Freddie thinks it's a bad idea to do a song about her father's tale considering he's a villain. Jordan thinks it's predictable to do one about her father's tale because it's well known. Ally suggests they do one over one of her mother's adventure's to Underland.**

 **Since Ally is known for being delusional, Freddie and Jordan try to knock some sense into her by saying that Wonderland isn't real. Ally wants to prove them wrong so she offers to take them to Underland. The duo says it's impossible, but Ally argues that she doesn't know the meaning of the word.**

 **They go to the tea shop and Ally leads them to the Looking Glass, the same one that her mother used to travel to Underland. As small proof, she able to stick her hand through the glass without it breaking. The two non-believers are surprised, so they follow Ally into the mirror.**

 **On the other side they appear in a meadow which is set up for a tea party. All the characters from the Wonderland movie is there except for Red Queen-she hates tea parties. Her mother's friends call Ally 'Allison'. Ally explains to her friends that her real name is 'Allison Kingsleigh'. They call her 'Allison' because it has the word 'Alice' in it.**

 **During the tea party there will be an incident where the Dormouse- Mallymkun (Mally), slips some of the shrinking drink in Freddie and Jordan's tea that makes them shrink. After the two are fed the cake that makes them grow, one of them will ask why she did that. Mally would say something like, "That's what you get for not believing our Allison."**

 **Ally then goes on to explain how her mother travels through three universes, Auradon being one of them because of King Beast asking her to live there, blah, blah, blah (it's almost midnight where I'm at. it will be explained in the story). Freddie and Jordan finally believes her.**

 **Anyways, one of the Underland characters forgot something at Hatter's house, so Ally offers to get it for them. She leaves, they are drinking tea and enjoying themselves when they hear her scream. Her Auradon friends gets there quicker and sees her being taken away by a strange man. They give description of man to the Underland characters, but they don't believe them. They had described the Knaves of Hearts, also known as Ilosovic Stayne, who was killed by the Red Queen. I might have them visit Time to see if Stayne's still ticking, but I'm not sure yet.**

 **The duo asks what they should do, and the characters suggest they ask for Alice's help because she would know what to do. Currently she is in London, England in the 1800s discussing her sailing expedition with her benefactor or something (not** clear **on that part).**

 **Of course, when the two get there, they have to fake British/English accents because their 'Southern' and 'Sassy' accents aren't in that time. Of course, Freddie is treated like crap because she's black and in that period blacks are slaves. They go to Alice's meeting, which is at the Ascot's household. They interrupt the meeting, guards immediately try to take them away, but Freddie yells that they are from Auradon and 'Allison' is in danger.**

 **I'll leave the rest of my idea a surprise.**

 **So what do you think? Should I write this story? Leave me a review!**


	9. Chapter 7

*~CHAPTER SEVEN~*

The United States of Auradon was on the verge of a crisis that could ruin everyone's life.

It started when the heir of the kingdom disappeared a little over ten years ago. When he disappeared, all mayhem broke loose. Every kingdom searched relentlessly for the young boy for a good month. After that, the number of searchers dwindled down till it was only his parent's kingdom.

A year after the heir's disappearance, the neighboring kingdom demanded that their son be the one to become King of Auradon. The two kings came to a compromise: if the lost heir is not found and inducted as king by his sixteenth birthday the neighboring kingdom's son will become the new king. There is just one small problem-

The son is a spoiled, arrogant bastard that cares about no one but himself.

For grins and giggles, the current King of Auradon had the son attend a meeting with the sidekicks of the legendary stories to come up with a solution for all of their issues. The king even gave the boy the sidekick's detailed list of complaints—which totaled to a one-thousand and one pages, so he'd know what their problems were.

Well, to summarize the meeting, he told them to suck it up and quit complaining. When asked if he even knew what they were upset about, he claimed that he didn't care. He said they had no reasons to complain and should be grateful that they are living with kings and queens instead of on the Isle with the villains.

It was safe to say that the sidekicks didn't like that response for they went to the current king with the matter. He didn't have the time to deal with their issues, but he promised he would try to resolve it whenever he had a free moment.

Anyways, the original heir's sixteenth birthday is in a little over a month and they still have no clues as to where the missing prince is. If the prince isn't found by then, the new king will be a tyrant.

The usual search guards were having an important meeting in their main security office to discuss their final search. The security office had a wall entirely made of screens which displayed every video feed from all the cameras in the kingdom. Of course, the citizens knew about it so it was no big deal.

There was a whole horizontal line on the middle that was nothing but static. Those were connected to the cameras on the Isle of the Lost. They haven't worked in over ten years.

Until now.

"Sir!" cried one of the lower ranking guards. "Look at the monitors!"

As requested, everyone turned their attention to the screens. One by one, the broken Isle video feed came to life. The first people to appear on the screens were two teenagers. One of the teens was a girl with purple shoulder-length hair with an equally purple and place dress. The other teen was a boy a few inches taller than the girl wearing an overly patched blue leather jacket and pants with an incredibly torn white shirt underneath.

The teens had an arm wrapped around the other's waist as they walked through the Isle. The boy was doing all the talking while the girl couldn't stop laughing or smiling. However, the guards couldn't hear a word they were saying.

"Can you get the audio to work?" one of them questioned another guard.

Two or three of the guards went to work on the audio. As they were working, the couple had stopped at one of the moderately large buildings on the Isle. The boy had let go of the girl when they reached the doorstep. The guards assumed that was the girl's home. Finally, they got the sound to work.

 _"Do you want me to grab anything?" the boy asked the girl._

 _The girl thought for a moment or two before deciding, "I want you to give me the first flower that you see on your walk."_

 _The boy couldn't hide his surprise. "That's a peculiar request. Why a flower?"_

 _She smiled lovingly. "So I know that there is another pure thing on this island besides you."_

The guards reluctantly watched as the couple kissed, but they noticed something quite shocking. When the girl placed a hand on the boy's cheek, the guards caught sight of a familiar piece of jewelry. She was wearing a gold ring that had the king's insignia on it.

"Lieutenant," began the main macho in charge, "tell King Beast we've found the missing prince!"


	10. Chapter 8

*~CHAPTER 8~*

"Mother!" Mal yelped, startled to see Maleficent sitting on her huge high-backed green chair in front of the stained-glass window. It was her throne, as it were—her seat of darkness.

"Hello, dear," Maleficent's cold voice greeted. "Do you know what time it is, young lady?"

Mal was confused. Since when had Maleficent imposed a curfew? Sure, Mal would understand if she had asked if she was with Ben, but the time? It wasn't as if her mother cared where she went or where she came home, now—did she? After all, the woman wasn't called Maleficent for nothing.

"Two in the morning?" Mal finally guessed.

"I thought so," Maleficent said, pushing up a purple sleeve and correcting the time on her wristwatch. She pulled the sleeve down and looked at her daughter. "Where was I? Oh yes, _Evil lives!_ " Maleficent hissed.

" _Evil lives_ —exactly, Mother." Mal nodded. "Is that what you want to talk to me about? The tags around town? Pretty good, right?"

"No, you misunderstood me, dear," her mother said, and it was then that Mal noticed that her mother was not alone. She was petting a black raven that was perched on the arm of her chair.

The raven croaked, flew to Mal's shoulder, and nipped her ear.

"Ouch!" she yelped. "Stop that!"

"That's just Diablo. Don't be jealous my little friend; that's just Mal," Maleficent introduced dismissively. And even if Mal knew that her mother couldn't care less about her, it still stung to hear it said aloud so bluntly.

"Diablo? That's Diablo?" said Mal.

"The one and only Diablo," purred Maleficent, actually looking happy for once.

"But _how_? He was frozen! They turned him into stone!" said al.

"Yes, they did, those horrid little beasts. But he's back! He's back! And _Evil lives!_ " Maleficent declared, with a witch's cackle for good measure.

Okay. Her mother was getting just a _wee_ bit repetitive.

Maleficent stood from her chair, her green eyes blazing into Mal's identical ones. "My Dragon's Eye—my scepter of darkness—Diablo says it has been awakened! _Evil lives!_ —and best of all, it is on this island!"

"Your scepter? Are you sure?" Mal asked skeptically. "Hard to believe King Beast of Auradon would leave such an impressive weapon on the Isle."

"Diablo swears he saw it, didn't you, my sweet?" Maleficent purred. The raven cawed.

"So where is it?" asked Mal.

"Well, I don't speak Raven, do I? It's on this blasted piece of rock somewhere!" Maleficent fumed, tossing her cape back.

"Okay, then. But so what?"

"So what?! The Dragon's Eye is back! _Evil lives!_ It means I can have my powers back!"

"Not with the dome still up," Mal pointed out.

"It doesn't matter. I thought those three despicably good fairies had destroyed it, but they had only frozen it, like they had Diablo. It is alive, it is out there somewhere, and best of all—you—my dear—will get it for me!" Maleficent announced with a flourish.

"Me?"

"Yes. Don't you want to prove yourself to me? Prove that you are worthy of being my daughter?" her mother asked quietly.

Mal didn't answer.

"You know how much you are a disappointment to me, how when I was your age, I had armies of goblins under my control, but you. . . What do you do—put your little drawings all over town and pretend you are in love with an outsider. You need to do MORE!" she seethed, standing up from her chair. Diablo flapped his wings and cawed in agreement.

Mal tried not to show her feelings. She was _not_ pretending when it came to loving Ben and she'd thought those tags were pretty cool. "Fine! Fine! I'll go get your scepter!" she agreed, if only to stop her mother from raging.

"Wonderful." Maleficent touched her heart, or the hole in her chest where it should have been. "When that sword pierced my dragon hide, and I fell off that cliff twenty years ago, I was sure I had died. But they brought me back to suffer a fate worse than death, much worse. But one day, I will have my revenge!"

Mal nodded. She'd heard the spiel so many times. She could chant it in her sleep. Maleficent took her hand, and they chorused, " _Revenge on the fools who imprisoned us on this cursed island!_ "

Maleficent urged Mal closer so that she could whisper a warning in her ear.

"Yes, Mother," said Mal to show she understood.

Maleficent grinned. "Now, get out of here and bring it back, so we can be free of this floating prison once and for all!"

Mal trudged up to her room. She climbed out her window and onto the balcony to see Ben already out there waiting on her with a beautiful pink rose in hand.

"First flower I saw," he insisted as he placed the rose behind her ear. "Fits you perfectly."

Mal decided not to beat around the bush, "How much did you hear?"

"A majority of it." Ben answered honestly. "When do you plan on getting her staff?"

"Saturday," she revealed. "That way no one can get suspicious. If I were to go on Friday, I would miss school and everyone would be asking you where I was."

"What about the shipment?" he wondered. "The shipment comes in late Saturday mornings and I doubt you'll be back in time to sort everything for the delivery on Sunday."

"Can you cover for me this time?" she begged cutely. "Pwease?"

You see, since the two became known as the 'King and Queen of the Isle', they decided to take it seriously by trying to make everyone's life better. The shipment from Auradon comes in on Saturdays. For three years now Mal and Ben have been splitting up the food from the shipment so everyone on the Isle gets an equal share.

They came up with a sort of system for how it would be split up. Children twelve or younger and villains that were sixty-five or older would get the fresher foods. Those in between would get the rottener food because their immune system could handle it.

Since Ben visits Gil every Saturday, Mal spends the day sorting everything out while on Sunday she and Ben would deliver the food to everyone on the Isle. Mal would do one side while Ben would do the other. Whatever food that is left over is split between the two main restaurants on the Isle—which are the Slop Shop and Ursula's Fish and Chips.

"With an adorable voice like that how can I refuse?" Ben teased before he kissed her forehead adoringly. "I'm going to go tell Gil the change in plans. I'll skip school halfway on Friday and be back before the shipment on Saturday."

"So in other words, I won't be able to sleep on Friday instead of Saturday," Mal summarized with a sigh.

"It will be the same for me," he insisted as he kissed her forehead again. "I doubt I will get a wink of sleep either."

The atmosphere seemed a little tense, so Mal decided to clear up any doubts. "What my mother said isn't true," she denied. "I am not pretending. I really do love you."

Ben gave her a small smile. "I know you do," he reassured as his smile grew a little more at his next statement. "I wouldn't have given you my ring if I thought otherwise."

To prove themselves, the couple kissed in the cloudy moonlight—

And it was one of the best kiss they ever had.

* * *

A few minutes later when Ben left to talk with Gil, Mal heard the sound of jiggling trinkets, which meant Jay had dropped by to annoy her or to steal a late-night snack.

"I'm out here," she called.

"You left before the fun really began," he said, meaning the party. "We turned the ballroom into a mosh pit and crowd-surfed." He joined her on the balcony, a bag of smelly cheese curls in his hand.

She shrugged.

"What's with the rude raven?" he asked, chomping noisily on the snack, his fingers turning a fluorescent shade of orange.

"That's Diablo. You know, my mom's old familiar. He's back."

Jay stopped chewing. "He's _what_?"

"He's _back_. He got unfrozen. So now Mom thinks the spell over the island might be unraveling, somehow."

Jay's eyes grew wide.

Mal looked away and continued, "That's not all. Diablo swears the Dragon's Eye is back too. That he saw it glow back to life. You know, her scepter, her greatest weapon, the one that controls all the forces of evil and darkness, blah blah blah. She wants me to find it, and use it to break the curse over the island."

Jay let out a loud laugh. "Well, she's really gone off the cliff into the deep end to take a swim with the killer alligators, then, hasn't she? That thing is hidden forever and ever, and ever and ever and—"

"Ever?" Mal smirked.

"Exactly."

Mal turned away, wanting to change the subject. "Do you ever think about what it's like over there?" she asked nodding toward the shining spires of Auradon that glimmered in the distance.

Jay scoffed. "Yeah, horrible. Sunny, and happy, and . . . horrible. I thank my unlucky stars every day that I'm not there."

"Yeah, I know. But, I mean—you never get sick of this place. Like you want a change?" she asked, brooding.

Jay looked at her quizzically. "If you want off the island all you have to do is tell B-"

"Never mind," she snapped forcefully. She continued staring into the night. Jay continued munching on his cheese curls and fiddling with some newly stolen costume jewelry.

"We have to find it," Mal said to Jay as an icy wind whipped up from the sea below and pulled her from her merry. "The Dragon's Eye. It's here."

"Mal, it's not poss—"

"We have to," Mal said.

"Eh," Jay replied shrugging his shoulders and turning toward the window to go back inside. "We'll see."

Mal took one last look out at the horizon to the bright, sparkling speck in the distance. She felt a pang in her gut, like longing. But what for, she couldn't say.


	11. Chapter 9

*~CHAPTER NINE~*

"How can this be?" King Beast questioned to no one in particular. "How did our son end up on the Isle of the Lost?"

It was around two in the morning when the king and queen were woken up from their slumber. At the moment they were in the hearth room—their favorite place in the castle—sitting in their designated chairs dressed in their robes and pajamas while the second in command of the search party was informing them on the news.

"We don't know," the guard admitted. "We do know that he must have been there for a while. From the few minutes we saw, he was dressed in a similar fashion and acted courteous to the other citizens."

"Do the villains or their children know who he is?" Queen Belle wondered.

"It may be possible," he answered reluctantly. "One of the children that he—uh, interacted with said he was the purest thing on the Isle."

"An odd choice of words," the king commented skeptically. "And how exactly did the cameras suddenly start working?"

"We thought somebody heard our pleas and prayers about not having the other candidate become king." The guard shrugged nonchalantly. "It's the only explanation we could come up with."

"When does the search party plan on bringing him home?" The queen further interrogated.

"We were going to keep an eye on him for a couple days," the worker explained. "It's a precaution to make sure it's truly him. We'll be able to listen in on his conversations so it won't take that long to discover if it's him."

"What made you think it was him?"

"We saw his royal ring."

"On him?" King Beast said.

"No," the soldier confessed. "We saw it on a girl he was talking to. We thought he gave it to her as a present."

"Or she stole it from him so he wouldn't know who he was."

"We are leaning toward the latter." Truth be told, the guard didn't want to be the one to tell the king and queen that their son was in a relationship with a villain's daughter. He knew the king would get into one of his temper fits.

"How many will be there to bring him home?" Queen Belle continued, mostly to change the subject.

"Our plans are to have two guards and a familiar face. We don't need the villains wondering why there are a hundred Auradon guards suddenly appearing on the Isle. It's likely they would warn Ben and he'd hide from us."

"I will go," Lumiere, who was standing alone by the door, volunteered. "It would be dangerous to have any of the royal family go to the Isle and it would be dangerous for the villains if we let his childhood friend go instead."

"Ah." Queen Belle shook her head in amusement with a small smile on her face. "Lonnie has gotten better at wielding a sword over the past few years. Do you think he'll remember you? After all, it has been over ten years since he's seen anyone from Auradon."

"We won't know till we try."

"There's supposed to be a shipment to the Isle tomorrow," the guard informed. "If we can determine that he is truly the lost prince by the end of today, then we'll be able to go with or follow the shipment boat on Saturday and bring him home."

Don't get your hopes too high. It will only come crashing down in an unexpected way.


	12. Chapter 10

*~CHAPTER TEN~*

By the end of first period, Evie was glad she had decided to show up to school the next day. For one thing, she didn't see any sign of Mal; and for another thing, it was empowering to realize that while her mother might never think she was pretty enough, she was certainly pretty enough for her Selfies Seminar, which only a few students from Selfies 101 were allowed to take. As it turned out, she could have taught the class herself.

"These are amazing!" Mother Gothel gushed as she looked over Evie's homework. The class had been ordered to produce a series of self-portraits, and Evie had spent the hours before Carlos's party hard at work on her portfolio, taking pictures of herself. Beauty required effort, didn't it? Wasn't that what her mother always said?

And, since her mother had made her so aware of every angle and every trick of light and cosmetics, Evie had the best photographs.

Or so she thought.

"It's as of you spend _every second_ staring at your own reflection!" Mother Gothel marveled. "Now, that is a feat of self-centeredness!"

Evie smiled. "Why, thank you. I do try."

"However," Mother Gothel began with an exasperated sigh, "your photos are only the second best in the class."

Evie couldn't believe what she heard. "'Second best'? Who has the best?"

Instead of giving her a verbal answer, the villain showed her only a handful of the many magnificent pictures. Each picture had both Mal and Ben in various adorable poses. The best one was of them standing out on a balcony at night with the moon light shining down on them. They looked absolutely in love.

Nothing could tear them apart and they made it known with that simple picture.

* * *

Mal had skipped the end of her class before lunch to watch Ben leave to the other side of the Isle. The two were in a massive hug with one another and neither wanted to let go.

"I'll be back tomorrow morning to sort out the shipment," Ben reassured as he went over the plan one more time. "And if you aren't back by late Sunday morning, I'll ask Jafar to help with some of the deliveries."

"I'll try to be back before you have to," Mal insisted as she tightened her hold. "If I'm not, please don't make him carry anything too heavy. He may not want to hear or admit this, but he's getting a little old. He can't do much anymore."

"He'll get the light stuff," Ben promised before he kissed his beloved's forehead. "Now, I really have to go or else Gil's going to wonder where I'm at."

She hugged him a little tighter at the claim. "I love you."

"And I love you," he confessed. "Don't worry, nothing is going to happen while your gone. I promise."

If only he knew how easy it was to break.

* * *

Mal arrived for her one-on-one after school seminar with Lady Tremaine still feeling anxious and out of sorts.

"Hi, Professor Tremaine, you wanted to see me about my year-long evil scheme?" she asked, knocking on the open door to the faculty tombs.

Lady Tremaine looked up from her desk with a thin smile. "Yes, come in and shut the door, please." A full thermos of curdled wine sat on the desk in front of her, which didn't bode well. Lady Tremaine only drank sour wine when she was in a sour mood.

Mal knew she was in trouble, but she did as she was told and sat across from the teacher. "So what's up?"

Lady Tremaine snorted. " 'What's up' is this . . . sad excuse for a year-long evil scheme. Party tricks? Pranks? This is beneath you, Mal. I expected more from you. You're my best student." She reached for her wine and sipped it, making an appropriately disgusted face.

"What's wrong with my evil scheme?"

"It's just not evil enough," sniffed Lady Tremaine.

Mal sighed.

Lady Tremaine glared. "I need you to really put up your dark heart and foul soul into it. Come up with a truly wicked scheme. One that will bring you to the depths of depravity and heights of wicked greatness of which I know you're capable of. Perhaps, something to get back at the princess for making you have the panic attack and threatening to take your Ben away." She returned Mal's paper to her. "I'll give you a minute to brainstorm, if that helps."

Mal looked down at the proposal she'd originally written. At first, she bristled at the criticism. Taking down a princess—that wasn't exactly a nice thing to do. She was going to make Evie pay, wasn't she?

Mal wanted to crumple the paper in her hand. She didn't have time for this. She had other things on her mind; her mother and the Dragon's Eye, for one, that stupid cursed scepter . . .

 _Hey, wait a minute . . ._

 _What did my mother say about the Dragon's Eye?_

 _Whoever touched the scepter will be cursed to fall asleep for a thousand years._

Maleficent had only cursed Aurora's kingdom to fall asleep for a _hundred_ years after Sleeping Beauty had pricked her finger on a spinning wheel. This curse put the victim to sleep for a _thousand._ And if somehow, on the quest, Mal made it happen that _Evie_ was the one who would touch the Dragon's Eye . . .

She'd take out the princess and win her own mother's respect—as well as the school's evil scheme competition—all at once.

Lady Tremaine was right. All these petty tricks she had planned to play on Evie were nothing compared to _this._ If Mal sent Evie to sleep for a thousand years—well, what could be nastier than that?

"I've got it!" Mal said, jumping from her chair and giving the startled Lady Tremaine a big hug, despite her better judgement. "Something _so_ evil, no one has seen it before—or ever will again!"

"Wonderful, child! It makes me so happy to see you so wicked," sniffed Lady Tremaine, bringing a hankie to her eye. "It brings me hope for our future. Except for, you know, that _hug_. Leave that PDA with your king."

Mal smiled triumphantly. Even a sappy hug couldn't get to her now. She couldn't wait to get started.

Evil waited for no one.


	13. Chapter 11

*~CHAPTER ELEVEN~*

When Mal had left the Junk Shop after going over the plan with Jay, he felt his father slither up to him and dig his fingers into his sleeve. "What's up?" he asked, even though he already knew.

"The Dragon's Eye," Jafar cooed.

"I know, I know." Jay nodded. It would be the biggest score of the year.

"I would hate to think you're betraying your friend," Jafar said with a sorrowful look on his face.

"Don't worry, Dad. I'm not betraying a friend." Jay let out an uneasy sigh. "I'm betraying a sister."

* * *

As they'd agreed, the next morning Jay met Mal at the crowded marketplace so they could swipe supplies for their journey to find the fortress.

"Are you sure you don't want to wait until this afternoon to go?" Jay questioned for the tenth time in the last twenty minutes. "I know you and Ben want to keep your reputation as 'Queen and King' positive, so this journey could probably wait a couple hours for you to do your 'royal' duty."

"Ben had stayed with Gil last night so he could do the sorting today," Mal snipped/snapped impatiently. "It's also why I'm an even more sour mood."

"No sleep?"

"Exactly."

"So, how sure are you about this whole thing? I mean, a little sure? A lot sure? Just-want-something-to-do sure?" asked Jay, juggling a few bruised peaches.

"I don't know. But I have to at least _try_ to find the fortress, especially if the Dragon's Eye is there. Also, don't you think it's weird that we've never left the village? I mean, this island's pretty small, and we've never even _tried_ to look around."

"What's there to look at? You said it yourself—we're probably headed for Nowhere. But say we do get a hold of the Dragon's Eye and it can't _do_ anything?" Jay questioned.

"Diablo swears that it sparked to life!"

"But how? There's no magic on the Isle. Nada."

"Well, maybe there's a hole in the dome, or something," Mal suggested.

"A hole?" scoffed Jay.

"I told you, I don't know; all I know is that the raven swears he saw it spark, and my mother wants me to fetch it like I'm an errand girl. If you're too chicken to come with me, then go back and steal some more crap for your junk shop," Mal said, annoyed.

"I'm not chicken!"

"Yeah—more like a parrot."

Jay sighed. She had him there. "Fine," he grumbled. "Maybe you're right: maybe there _is_ a hole."

* * *

Mal's and Jay's squabbling voices carried throughout the marketplace, and Evie couldn't help but overhear. She was at the bazaar for her first-ever shopping trip with her mother.

Evie squinted at their faces. Mal was scowling and Jay looked annoyed, as per usual. Was she imagining it, or did she hear them say something about a hole in the magical barrier? The memory of the burst of light that had shot out of Carlos's invention the night of the party came to her quickly.

"Are you guys talking about a hole in the dome?" she asked, coming up to the two of them.

Mal looked up suspiciously, but when she saw Evie her voice turned thick as honey. "Why, Evie! You're just the person I've been looking for."

"She is?" Jay asked, confused.

"Yes, she is," Mal said definitively. "Now, what were you saying about the dome?"

Evie wondered if she should tell them what she knew. She knew she couldn't trust Mal, and she had an inkling that Jay was behind her missing poison-heart necklace.

"Nothing," she said.

"Tell us," urged Jay, crossing his arms.

"Why should I?" Evie sniffed. Mal had trapped her in a closet! And Jay wasn't any better, really—the little thief.

"Because," Jay said. Then he was stumped. "Um. Because if you don't, Mal will curse you?" he added, even though he didn't sound convinced himself.

"If you haven't noticed, there's no magic on this island." Evie said huffily.

"Not yet," said Mal. "But there may be one day." She took Evie's arm in hers and whispered. "Look, I know we didn't start off on the right foot, but I think we should let bygones be bygones. It's a small island, and we shouldn't be enemies."

"Really?"

"Really," said Mal with her sweetest smile.

Evie knew Mal wasn't being sincere, but she was intrigued enough to play along with it.

She was about to tell her what she knew about the dome when Evil Queen burst out of Bits and Bobs. "Evie! I got some new eye shadow for you! Oh!" she exclaimed when she saw Evie wasn't alone "If it isn't Mal!" she added nervously. "How are you, dear? I've heard about your new title and your . . . boyfriend's circumstances. How long have you've been together for, a few days?"

Mal's eyes flashed their dangerous and threatening green hues that could make anyone scared. "Try ten years," she corrected with a tilt of her head and a 'I-know-what-you're-doing' smile, "and we are still hopelessly in love with each other. I'm not going to give him up anytime soon, _especially_ not to your daughter."

"Right," the Evil Queen agreed begrudgedly, knowing she lost the fight. "Let's go, Evie."

"Oh, can Evie hang out with us?" asked Mal with a syrupy smile. "We were just about to grab a few unhealthy snacks from the Slop Shop."

Evie was torn. On the other hand, she knew she should stay away from Mal if she wanted to be safe, but on the other, she never got to hang out with kids her age.

Evil Queen nodded. "Sure! I'll see you at home, sweetie." As she left, she mouthed, "Reapply your lip gloss!".

When she was out of hearing range, Jay smirked amusedly. "Ben's going to be happy that you finally agree that it's been ten years."

"I always say the amount that we've known each other when someone tries to break us up," Mal argued. "Remember, I did so with the Harry Hook incident."

"Who's Harry Hook?" Evie questioned. She hadn't heard the name before.

"He's on the other side of the Isle." Mal snapped on instinct. "You won't see him on this side unless he wants Ben to kill him."

Evie decided it would be best to pick up the last conversation from where they had left off. "So, you guys want to know about the hole in the dome, or not?"

Mal and Jay exchanged glances. "Of course we do," they chorused.

Evie shrugged. "Well, something happened the night of the party that may have to do with the dome."

"Is that right?" asked Mal with a raised eyebrow.

"You need to talk to Carlos," said Evie. "He knows what happened."

"Carlos? Why? What does he have to do with anything?" Mal demanded as they passed a tent selling colorful scarves, and Jay practiced his parkour by running across the walls and rooftops.

"Because he was the one that did it," Evie claimed. "He punched a hole in the dome."

Jay barked a laugh and dropped down next to them. "Yeah, right—as if that little guy can punch anything. Come on, Mal. We've got work to do." He began to turn away.

Evie stared at Mal. Mal stared at Evie.

"I'm not lying," she said to Mal.

"I didn't think you were," said Mal, her green eyes flashing. Finally Mal said, "Okay."

"You actually believe her?" Jay gawked, sounding right then like Iago.

"I think we need to check it all out."

"But we're headed to Dragon Hall."

"No, we'll head toward Hell Hall first. I want to talk to Carlos," Mal decided. "And you're coming with us, Evie."

Evie didn't argue with that. Something big was going down. Something had started, the night Carlos had turned on that machine. And against her better judgement, Evie wanted to see how it would end.

So, onward to Hell Hall they went; but now the two-some was three.

Not knowing about the outsiders' arrival.


	14. Chapter 12

*~CHAPTER TWELVE~*

Ben was about finished sorting out the food when he noticed a smaller boat a few hundred yards away heading straight for the wharf.

"Is there another shipment?" Ben questioned the goblin that was watching him. "I though there was only one."

The goblin sighed in dismay. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty," he apologized. "But when I went to the mainland, the Auradon guards asked about you. They said that if I distracted you, my brethren and I would eventually be able to live with our dwarf cousins in Auradon."

"How did they know I was on the Isle? Or even at this exact spot at this time?"

"The cameras started working again." Once he saw the confusion on Ben's face, the dwarf explained, "Before you arrived on the Isle, there was cameras posted all over the village. They stopped working a few days before you appeared in this boat ten years ago. The cameras worked again early Friday morning a little before two. The first thing they claimed to see was you walking with the Queen."

"They saw the ring on Mal," Ben deduced with a groan. With a huff, he requested, "Will you spread the news that the cameras are working to the others? Maybe some will find a few blind spots."

"What will you do in the meantime?"

Ben sighed. "I think it's time that I stopped ignoring them."

* * *

By the time all of the food was sorted, the second ship docked next to the first boat. Ben refused to look at the passengers of the boat for he was focused on making sure he did everything correctly. Mal would be irritated if they suddenly messed up after three years.

The one that was not dressed like the two guards, most likely a servant, began to ask, "Are you B-"

"Give me two, three minutes tops," he demanded as he checked an enormous pile of boxes—the wicked step-granddaughters'—and a ratty paper he had in his hand. "If I don't get this right, my girl is going to be mad and will force me to do this every Saturday until I remember again, which isn't good for our reputation."

"What reputation?" asked the smaller of the two guards.

Ben glanced at him for a second to answer, "We are the King and Queen of the Isle, though I don't expect you to know that since the cameras only started working two days ago."

"How do you know about that?" questioned the bigger and probably stronger guard.

"News travel fast on the Isle." After seeing that he indeed did it correctly, Ben moved on to a random pile of food and quickly began to separate them into two different boxes. "No secret is safe here. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the villagers saw you coming and warned the others."

"What exactly are you doing?" The servant inquired.

"Sorting out the food for the villages so everyone gets a fair share." Ben finally finished his duty with a satisfied nod. "Alright, I'm done. Follow me."

"Follow you?" repeated the smaller guard. "Why?"

Ben raised an eyebrow in an 'are you kidding' manner. "Do you really want to ask questions to someone that knows their way around the Isle and is offering you safe travels?"

Needless to say, the smaller guard kept mostly quiet for the rest of the trip.

* * *

"Uncle!" Ben shouted as he and the three others entered through the back door of a home. "I have visitors! Can you close the shop for a few minutes to join us?"

"I have one more customer then I will!" shouted back a 'mysterious' man.

" 'Uncle'?" The servant repeated. "You . . . have family here on the Isle?"

"Family, close friends, and a girlfriend," Ben summarized as he looked through the cabinets for something. He called to his 'uncle', "Have you fed Iago?"

"About ten minutes ago!" came the reply. "He's upstairs asleep in his cage, so you should be safe to eat."

As soon as that was said, the teen grabbed an incredibly bruised apple from the counter and a flat soda from the fridge before he sat on the marble counter. "We make sure to feed Iago before we eat so he doesn't take all of our food. For a parrot, he's quite the pig."

" 'Iago'?" The bigger guard said in disbelief. "Is your uncle . . .?"

Right on cue, Jafar emerged from his store after locking everything up for safety. He was just as surprised as the Auradonians. "What's going on here?" Jafar demanded from the teen. "Why are they here?"

"Why is he here?" The servant questioned as well.

"He is here to help me control my temper." Ben explained before taking a bite out of his apple—instead of a crunch it was mush. "I've made it a habit that when I conduct business, I have someone I trust present to keep me from getting mad or hateful. Uncle, they are here because they—"

"Pardon the interruption," the servant pleaded, "but why do you call him 'uncle'?"

"I'm one of the main villains that helps him hide his relationship with his girlfriend from her mother," Jafar insisted. He went to sit on the couch, which caused the three to take a cautious step back. "He and his significant other sometimes stay here when they want to get away from the mother, but don't want to travel to his place."

"And as payment for helping I give him some of the food I would receive from the sorting," Ben continued. "Anyways, Uncle, they are here because they finally found out where I've been at for the last ten years."

That remark surprised the three Auradonians. "You know who you are?" the smaller guard interrogated. "Why haven't you tried to come home?"

"The Isle _is_ my home," Ben argued. "And I discovered who I was six years ago when the Auradon News Network put a picture of six-year-old me on there asking if people have seen me. I had amnesia for four years until I saw that. Some of my memory is still foggy, but I remembered most things."

"The does that mean you know who I am?" the servant wondered.

"Of course, I know who you are, Lumiere," Ben answered as he tossed the apple core into a nearby trash can and chugged the flat soda. "And I know the only reason you are here is because you want to take me back to, but I am perfectly fine here."

"But we need you," Lumiere urged. "If you don't return h-to Auradon by your birthday—"

"My birthday was three months ago."

"You're _real_ birthday," Lumiere clarified, "then the crown will go to the next person in line."

"And _nobody_ wants that to happen," the larger guard insisted. "We would be ruled by an egotistical tyrant."

"Who's next in line?"

"King Charming and Queen Cinderella's son, Chad Charming."

Jafar snarled his nose at the name as did Ben. Jafar scoffed, "He will _never_ be our king. Ben and his significant other will always be the ruler of the Isle."

"And they will just let me be the king?" The missing child wondered. "Without being properly trained?"

"We'd rather have that than a ruler that would ruin all of our lives. The normal people would go broke while the others would barely survive." The smaller guard commented.

"I'll go back," Ben began after some thought, "on one condition."

"Which is?"

"Four children of the villains get to come with me."

"It would depend on the four," Lumiere argued skeptically. "It may take some convincing from your father otherwise."

"You may want to write this down," Ben suggested as he tossed the empty soda can away. "I am not leaving without the son of Jafar, the son of Cruella De Vil, the daughter of the Evil Queen, _and_ the daughter of Maleficent."

"Maleficent!" Lumiere cried in surprise. "But she's the worse villain in the land; no doubt her daughter would be any better!"

"That's too bad," Ben dropped down from the counter and crossed his arms over his chest, "because I'm not leaving without her."

"Why?"

Jafar laughed at the Auradonians obliviousness. "Do you really think our king will leave without his queen?"


	15. Chapter 13

*~CHAPTER THIRTEEN~*

Mal groaned in annoyance. "If I knew it was going to take this long to do all these chores I wouldn't have had Ben do the sorting!"

For the past several hours, Mal, Jay, and Evie helped Carlos with the painstaking task of finishing his mother's laundry. Or, to be more specific, Jay and Evie helped Carlos, while Mal "supervised."

For a woman who lived on a semideserted island full of ex-villains, Cruella sure had an elaborate wardrobe, Mal thought. There were fringed scarves and silky black gloves, fishnet stockings, and slinky black dresses, chubby wraps and whisper-knit cardigans, bulky coats and frilly corsets. Cruella De Vil might be exiled, but that doesn't mean her clothes were going to be anything less than stunning.

"If you're bored then try to take a nap," Jay suggested, who was up to his elbows in suds washing a number of black-and-white sweatshirts. "You're going to need some kind of rest for the journey and you're running on zero hours of sleep."

"Do you really think I can?" Mal snapped. "If I can't sleep at night without Ben then why would a nap be any different?"

"Just try," he insisted almost urgently.

With a groan, Mal rested her head on the arm of the couch she was laying on. She closed her eyes in desperation and exhaustion. Less than a minute later, she fell into a light slumber.

"The only way she can sleep is if Ben is next to her," Jay quietly explained to Evie, who was humming as she folded black-and-white towels. "The same goes for Ben. It's been like that for ten years now. I'm surprised she's actually asleep now, even if it's a very light sleep. I was taking a stab in the dark when I suggested that she'd try to sleep."

"I'm guessing Ben had visited Gil last night?" Carlos questioned after he pulled the safety pins out of his mouth and pinned a bustier on a hanger just the way Cruella's old favorite dry-cleaner in London had.

"You're guess is right."

"Since she's asleep," Evie began as she finished folding the last towel, "what's the Harry Hook incident?"

Jay sighed, but knew better than to not answer, because she'd end up asking again later. "Harry Hook, the son of Captain Hook, obnoxiously flirted with Mal a few weeks after she and Ben started dating. Uma, the daughter of Ursula that Mal has a feud with, ordered him to do so to make Ben jealous and to brake them up. Mal ignored and denied all his attempts—she even claimed that her and Ben had been together seven years at that time. To make this short, Harry crossed a dangerous line."

"What did he do?" wondered Evie.

"Well, after she blatantly told him to leave her alone, Harry kissed her," Jay explained as he felt his own temper rising at the memory. "Ben had been a few yards away when he heard part of the conversation, the part of her rejecting Harry. When he came closer and saw what Harry did, Ben's rage exploded to a new level. He would have killed Harry if I hadn't pulled him away and if Mal hadn't helped him control his temper."

"The villagers came up with a saying after it happened," Carlos butted in. "It's pretty famous."

"What's the saying?"

" 'Anger the King, Plea for the Queen'," Jay recited. " 'Anger the Queen, Be Killed by the King'."

Evie didn't believe it. "And people actually follow that saying?"

"It's saved a lot of lives," Carlos retorted darkly.

Just as they were putting the finishing touches on the last batch of black-and-white clothing and linens, they heard the roar of a car engine which woke up Mal. It screeched to a stop in front of Hell Hall.

Carlos began to shake. "It's her . . . Mother . . . she's back . . . she wasn't supposed to be back till tomorrow. The Spa must have dried up."

A car door slammed, and a heavy accent raspy from too much smoke and yelling rang through the air. "Carlos! Carlos! My baby!" Cruella cried, her throaty voice ringing through the house. "My baby needs a bath!"

"She knows you're dirty from out there?" Evie asked, confused.

Carlos turned red again. "She doesn't mean _me_ ," he whispered hoarsely. "She means her car. She's telling me to give it a wash."

The four of them crept out of the laundry area and into the main room.

Cruella stopped short at the sight of three strange scraggly teenagers in her house. She still wore her hair in a frizzy black-and-white do. Her long, fur coat trailed on the floor behind her, and she was sucking on a slender black cigarette holder.

Mal gave her a disapproving glance, and Cruella shrugged. "It's vapor. Just vapor, darling."

Mal waved the vapor away.

"Now, enough about my baby, how is my one true love?" Cruella drawled, puffing on her long vapor wand.

The three teenagers turned to Carlos questioningly, but even he looked astounded to hear himself described in such affectionate terms. "Your one true love?" he almost stammered.

"Why, yes, my one true love. My furs!" Cruella laughed. "You've been taking good care of them haven't you, darling?"

"Of course," Carlos said, reddening again.

"Who are these clowns?" Cruella demanded, waving her arms toward the group.

"They're my . . ." Carlos stammered.

Mal knew he couldn't say _friends_ , because they weren't friends, not really. She had bullied him into going with her on a quest, Evie pitied him, and Jay was there only so he could attempt to steal the chandelier.

Either Cruella didn't notice or didn't care. "Where're Jace and Harry?" she asked.

Carlos shrugged.

"Hi, Mrs. De Vil, I'm—" Evie said, offering her hand.

"I know who you are," Cruella said dismissively.

Mal thought it was interesting that everyone knew who Evie was, even though she'd been kept in a castle for a decade.

"Hey," said Mal.

"Oh, hello, Mal—tell your mother I send my love, darling and tell Ben that you and him owe me for covering for you two the other day," Cruella said, gesturing with her vapor cigarette and then turning to glare at Jay. "And you, tell your father he ripped me off with that lamp he sold me—the thing doesn't work."

"Yes, ma'am." Jay saluted.

"Well, what are you all standing here for? Didn't you hear me? My baby's dirty, darlings! It's absolutely wretched! I can't live another minute until you give my baby a bath! Now scram!"


	16. Chapter 14

*~CHAPTER FOURTEEN~*

Mal blinked her eyes open. She was in the throne room at the Forbidden Fortress. Jay, Carlos, and Evie were standing around her nervously. When she had fallen asleep she had been holding the Dragon's Eye scepter in her hand. But when she woke up, it was nowhere to be seen.

"You're awake! But you're supposed to be asleep for a thousand years!" cried Evie. "How?"

Mal rubbed her eyes. It was true—she was awake. She wasn't cursed. Why was that? Then she realized.

 _Prove that you are my daughter, prove that you are mine_ , her mother had ordered her. _Prove to me that you are the blood of the dragon. Prove you are worthy of that mark on your skin._

The mark of the double dragon etched on her forearm. That had to be it. She held it up, showing the others.

"It couldn't hurt me," said Mal. "My true name is Maleficent. Like my mother, I am part dragon, and so I am immune to the Dragon's curse."

"Lucky you," Jay said, eyeing the impressive tat.

Mal smiled proudly down at the marking she bore.

If she had been her father's daughter, weak, human, she would be asleep by now. For a thousand years. But she wasn't. She was strong, and awake, and had proven to everyone that she was her mother's daughter.

 _Hadn't she?_

 _And when she brought her mother the Dragon's Eye—_

"But wait—where is it?" Mal said, looking around accusingly at the trio. "I had it right in my hand!"

"Good question," said Jay, sounding a little wounded himself.

"It's gone. When you grabbed it, there was a flash of light that blinded us for a second, and when we could see again, it was gone," said Carlos. He shrugged. "Easy come, easy go."

The other three glared at him.

"Easy?" Evie raised an eyebrow, looking as tough as she possibly could.

Mal narrowed her eyes. "Jay, come on, hand it over."

"I swear, I don't have it!" said Jay, emptying his pockets to show her. "I planned to take it. I wanted to take it. I was even going to take it out of your own hand, while you were sacked out."

"And?"

He shrugged. "Just didn't get around to it, I guess."

"None of us have it," said Evie. She folded her arms, looking annoyed. "And by the way, you knew the curse was on that staff and you had all of us come with you anyway? What was up with that?"

Mal kicked a stone with her toe. "Yeah. I didn't really work out the plan very well."

"So why didn't you let me touch it, then? Wasn't that your evil scheme all along?"

Mal shrugged. "What are you talking about? I just didn't want you to. It wasn't yours to touch."

"Be honest. You were going to curse me, weren't you? You were going to let me touch that thing and end up taking the thousand-year nap?" Evie sighed.

Jay looked up. Carlos backed away instinctively. Mal knew neither one of them wanted to get anywhere near this conversation. She knew that because she felt the same way herself.

"I guess that was the plan." Mal shrugged. _You don't have to explain yourself. Not to her_. But she found, strangely enough, that she wanted to.

"Is this still about the—you know?" Evie looked at her. "Come on."

Mal played clueless. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Evie rolled her eyes. "The party. My party. Back when we were little kids."

"That's not why," Mal insisted forcefully. "Like I said before, I'm over it. There was a _completely_ different reason why I wanted revenge on you."

"Mal," Jay chided. "Are you really going to tell her?"

"Might as well." She shrugged. "She's the only person that doesn't know on the Isle and someone is bound to let it slip sooner or later."

That peeked Evie's curiosity. "Let what slip?"

Mal sighed as she collected her thoughts. "The real reason why I planned this evil scheme is because you recognized Ben."

"I did?" said Evie.

"You asked if he had been on TV," Mal simplified. "Six years ago, the Auradon News Network had displayed a picture of the missing prince asking if anyone has seen him. The prince had been missing four years prior, but nobody on the Isle knew about it. Coincidentally, Ben had been on the Isle at that time for four years . . ."

Evie gasped as realization hit her. "Ben's the missing prince!"

"Exactly," Jay concurred.

"But why didn't he leave?" Evie questioned. "He could have contacted his parents and got off the island a long time ago."

"It's because of me," Mal confessed guiltily. "When we first met—ten years ago on your birthday after you were banished, he promised that he wouldn't leave the Isle without me. We spent the next ten years being at each other's side constantly. During that time, our feelings for each other turned into something more than friendship. We fell in love."

"But that doesn't explain why you wanted to curse me."

"I was afraid," Mal admitted. "I was afraid that if you really did recognize Ben, you would inform the Auradonians and take him away from me to get revenge on being banished for so long."

"I would never do something so cruel!" Evie exclaimed defensively. "I've only seen you two interact only a handful of times and I already knew you were made for each other."

Mal raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Promise?"

Evie nodded her head sincerely and smiled. "Promise."

"Enough with the violins," Jay insisted. "We got a long walk home and I'm not sure that this place has a back door."


	17. Chapter 15

**This is the last chapter of the story (and it is short), first time I'm doing an author's note in a chapter. I need your opinion on another story idea that I have.**

 **Have any of you watched the Disney show 'The Lodge'? Well I have and I have spent two days binge watching the twenty-five episodes that are out. Since I saw two actors that are in Descendants, I had an idea. It would kind of be like a version of my other story 'Deception', where the Descendants characters tries to make Liv Rooney realize that she's actually Mal, the daughter of Maleficent.**

 **For the idea I had with 'The Lodge', three characters from Descendants (Mal, Jay, and Uma) try to make Sean Matthews remember that he is actually Harry Hook. Obviously, Mal and Uma can't go around with purple and turquoise hair so they used magic to hide it. Essentially, Mal would be under the disguise of Jess, the girl that Sean won the Enduro with.**

 **Anyways, that's all I'm going to say for now. If you like the idea, please review!**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

*~CHAPTER FIFTEEN~*

Mal blinked once. She blinked again. On her third blink she finally processed what her boyfriend of three years said. "We're what?"

"We," Ben began slowly as he held her hands comfortingly, "are going to Auradon in less than a month?"

" _How?_ " She questioned in disbelief. "What happened while I was gone?"

"Three Auradonians came to the Isle to talk to me," he explained. "They knew who I was when the cameras started working again. The first thing those guards saw was you and me after the party. When we kissed, they saw the ring on your finger—"

"So it's my fault," Mal deduced as panic swelled up in her chest. "You're going to be taken away from me because of me."

"I'm not leaving without you." Ben declared. "I made that very clear with the three Auradonians. A letter was sent today to me saying my father will allow all five of us to come to Auradon. They need a month to sort everything for our arrival."

" 'Five of us'?" She repeated in confusion. "What five?"

"I knew you wouldn't leave without Jay," he insisted. "I also knew that you two would end up becoming friends with Evie and Carlos, so I had them invited as well."

A thousand questions raced through her mind, so she went with the one that bothered her the most. "Why are they so desperate to get you home? Ten _years_ have gone by since you disappeared."

"If I'm not back in Auradon by my real sixteenth birthday, then the crown goes to the next person in line," Ben claimed. "The next in line is Chad Charming."

Mal scoffed at the name. "He would never be the Isle's king. It would always be you."

"I know," Ben reassured. "But apparently my father had given him a test to see if he would be a good ruler. Chad was supposed to handle the sidekick's issues, but he only made it worse. He told them they were lucky they were living in Auradon instead of on the Isle of the Lost."

"So if you don't return, Auradon is going to be ruled by a tyrant," Mal summarized. "And us villains will most likely be given less food to survive. He would try to starve us to death."

"If we were to go to Auradon, my father would put me to the same test." Ben revealed the large stack of papers that was somehow hidden from sight. "He sent me the list of complaints to prepare me."

Mal gingerly took the stack and couldn't believe how thick and heavy it was. "This has to be a thousand pages."

"And one," he corrected. "The sidekicks of the legends were very descriptive with their complaints."

Mal sighed. "We better get started if we want to finish this in a month."

" 'We'?"

Mal smiled. "Yes 'we'. Those Auradonians are gonna have to get used to us solving problems together."

"So we're going?"

"Yes," Mal declared as her smile widened. "We are going to Auradon!"


	18. SEQUEL!

_**SEQUEL IS UP!**_

 **The sequel of this story has been published!**

 **The story is called 'Descendants: Welcome to Auradon'.**

 **I hope I can post the second chapter tomorrow, but I have two assignments for college due.**

 **I'll try the best I can.**

 **I hope you enjoy it!**


	19. Coming Soon

**COMING SOON IN AUGUST 2019:**

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 ** _Descendants_** _ **3:**_

 _ **Welcome to Reality**_


	20. Final Announcement

**_ANNOUNCEMENT!_**

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 **The Final** **Installment**

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 **Of The Raised On The Isle** Series

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 **Has** **Officially**

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 **Published!**


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